Daniel Cormier was impressed by Charles Oliveira at UFC 289, but still puts him a level below Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) scored a Round 1 TKO of Beneil Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s co-main event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Although Oliveira was recently submitted by lightweight champion Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) in dominant fashion at UFC 280 in October, Cormier thinks we’ll see a rematch – and he expects a better performance from Oliveira this time around.
“He needed something big tonight in order to merit or earn another shot at Islam Makhachev’s championship,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Tonight he got out clean, he’s not hurt, he’s not banged up, he’s not bruised.
“So, I envision we’re gonna see Makhachev vs. Oliveira 2 in Abu Dhabi. I anticipate this will be a better fight than we saw the first time because now Charles Oliveira has been in there with Islam. But, this kid’s a star, this kid is one of the best fighters in the world.”
Makhachev reacted to Oliveira’s win by taking a jab at him, and Cormier agrees with his teammate’s statement. Oliveira has now finished top five lightweights Dariush, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler.
Congrats Charles.
But still there’s levels in this game 😎— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) June 11, 2023
As Makhachev tweeted, there are levels to this game,” Cormier continued. “Charles Oliveira proved tonight that if he is not the champion, he is just slightly below Islam as the second level. He’s 1A to Islam Makhachev’s champion.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
